Donald Trump clears way for controversial oil pipelines

  Oil producers in Canada and North Dakota are expected to benefit from a quicker route for crude oil to US Gulf Coast refiners. But going ahead with the pipelines would mark a bitter defeat for Native American tribes and climate activists, who successfully blocked the projects earlier and vowed to fight the decisions through legal action. US President Donald Trump signed orders on Tuesday smoothing the path for the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines in a move to expand energy infrastructure and roll back key Obama administration environmental actions. 

Oil producers in Canada and North Dakota are expected to benefit from a quicker route for crude oil to US Gulf Coast refiners. But going ahead with the pipelines would mark a bitter defeat for Native American tribes and climate activists, who successfully blocked the projects earlier and vowed to fight the decisions through legal action. Trump campaigned on promises to increase domestic energy production. Before taking office he said the Dakota pipeline should be completed and that he would revive the CUSD 8 billion (USD 6.1 billion) Keystone XL project, which was rejected in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama. US crude imports have fallen dramatically in recent years as domestic production has boomed, but the world's largest oil consumer still relies heavily on imports. Even though Canada is already the biggest source of US crude imports, boosting the flow from a close ally is seen in Washington as a way to improve US energy security

"It goes to show we as a nation build infrastructure that is part of a comprehensive energy plan to make our energy secure," Republican Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota told Reuters. Trans Canada Corp said it would resubmit an application for a permit for Keystone XL after Trump signed an order saying the company could re-apply. The application will be reviewed by the US State Department, which has 60 days to reach a decision. The orders look set to undo victories won by protesters in North Dakota against Energy Transfer Partners , which has nearly completed construction of the Dakota line. Despite the advanced phase of the project, the Obama administration in December denied the company a permit to tunnel under the Missouri River. Protesters rallied for months against plans to route the USD 3.8 billion pipeline beneath a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, saying it threatened water resources and sacred Native American sites. At one point, nearly 10,000 people had flocked to federal land in North Dakota, including 4,000 veterans after protests turned violent at times. The main protest camp has dwindled to several hundred after the Standing Rock tribe 

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Reuters Oil prices stable as US output gains offset 

OPEC-led cuts SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable  with rising crude output from the United States offsetting efforts by OPEC and other producers to prop up the market by cutting supplies. Oil prices were stable on Friday, with rising crude output from the United States offsetting efforts by OPEC and other producers to prop up the market by cutting supplies. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at USD 56.21 per barrel at 0231 GMT, virtually unchanged from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at USD 53.84 a barrel, up 6 cents.

 Traders said growth in US output was counteracting efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia to reduce a global fuel overhang, resulting in range-bound prices. "US producer hedging via futures and increasing shale production offset the progress OPEC has made with its production cut implementation," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore. "Market participants are hyper-focused on two issues: shale's response to higher prices and OPEC compliance," Barclays bank said.

 "Producers and OPEC countries are all talking their books, yet the jury is still out," it added, referring to widespread scepticism over compliance with announced cuts. The British bank said it expected Brent and WTI prices to average USD 55 and USD 53 per barrel respectively for the first quarter. OPEC and other producers have agreed to cut production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first half of 2017 to fight a supply overhang that has seen between 1 million and 2 million bpd of crude being produced in excess of consumption over the past two years. US oil production, however, has risen by around half a million barrels per day since mid-2016 to 8.96 million bpd.

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